Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) is a member of the Cruciferae (mustard) family and is an important crop grown worldwide. The world production of cauliflower is close to 5 millions tons a year, covering an area of around 300,000-400,000 hectares. The edible part of the plant is the head, also called curd, which comprises of the arrested inflorescence and floral meristems. Cauliflower is an appreciated vegetable because of its pleasant taste and nutritive value. The per capita consumption of fresh cauliflower in the United States was estimated at 0.73 kg in 1982 (see e.g. Ib Libner Nonnecke, Vegetable Production, 1989, Van Nostrand Reinhold, N.Y. Publisher, pp. 382-394). However, cauliflower is a difficult crop to grow. It has very precise climatic requirements, which, if ignored, cause failure or partial failure under field conditions.
The cauliflower curd is very delicate and easily damaged, and is exclusively harvested by hand. This is however inefficient and costly, and it is estimated that 30-50% of the production costs for cauliflower are harvesting costs. Attempts have been made to harvest cauliflower curds mechanically, but they have faced difficulties in identifying the mature curds and detaching them from the plant without damaging the curds. Recently, a mechanical harvester specifically designed for cauliflower was described. This mechanical harvester uses sensor technology and image processing (see HortLINK Caulicut project, http://www.ost.gov.uk/link/linkcasestudies/cauliflowersapril03.pdf). However, the cost of the machines was reported to be high. This would require a substantial upfront investment, and it remains to be seen whether the prototypes described will be commercially successful.
There is therefore an unfulfilled need to reduce costs of production for cauliflower. In particular, there is an unfulfilled need for developments allowing increased efficiency and reductions in the costs of harvesting marketable cauliflower curds.